Health care news: 

►  In today's Olympian -- Report: State has option to widen health care -- "The report shows there are a couple of ways we can actually save hundreds of millions of dollars and cover virtually everyone. It's a win-win and it's never been shown before," says Sen. Karen Keiser. 

►  In today's News Tribune -- More kids could get health insurance -- The U.S. Senate approves legislation providing health insurance to nearly 6,000 more children in Washington state and fixing a problem that has cost the state $200 million in federal funding over the past decade. Reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Senate voted to provide $31.5 billion in funding over 4 1/2 years, including $94 million for Washington, an increase of $15 million.

►  In the Seattle P-I -- Treat health care as a human right (op-ed by M.D.s) -- The silver lining in this economic crisis is that it offers us the opportunity to build a high-quality, sustainable health system -- one founded on the premise that every person should be able to get the health care they need, rather than viewing health care as a consumer product that we can buy or forgo.

►  In today's NY Times -- Health care now! (Paul Krugman column) -- The whole world is in recession. But the United States is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe -- in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care. This is no time to let campaign promises of guaranteed health care be quietly forgotten. It is, instead, a time to put the push for universal care front and center. Health care now!

Federal stimulus news: 

►  In today's Seattle P-I -- Loyal opposition: Still out of touch (editorial) -- Elections matter -- and the country voted to give President Barack Obama the job because we're tired of hearing "tax cuts" as the solution to every economic problem. Yet there they go again. Moderates (including our region's Rep. Dave Reichert) were 100 percent in line with an out-of-touch party leadership.

►  In today's LA Times -- Republicans lack a party line on economy -- As Republicans fight President Obama's gargantuan economic plan, they have plenty of ideas. What they don't have is a party-wide consensus: They can't agree among themselves on the best alternative, or on whether government action is even needed to pull the economy from its nose dive.

►  In today's Seattle P-I -- Republicans quickly turning into the Party of "No" (Joel Connelly column) -- With the same cooks in the kitchen, the right wing is serving up the same old stew of bile and red herrings. Eating up this concoction is an audience that's bitter, elderly and male, grumbling as the country embraces a new young president. Is this the route to rebuilding the party? Or broaden its appeal? Or recapture the Gipper's sunny optimism about America as a "shining city on a hill"? 

Legislative news: 

►  At SeattleTimes.com -- Speaker Chopp wants to boost unemployment checks -- He wants to tweak Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to temporarily boost workers' benefits by $45 a week, while also providing a tax cut for business. Chopp agrees with bumping up the average pay check, but also wants to increase the minimum benefit that workers can get from $129 per week to around $150. Chopp said the plan in the House is to move on beefing up worker benefits quickly and then take up the tax cut for business, addressing rate issues over the long term.

►  In today's Seattle P-I -- Gregoire unveils "green jobs" legislation -- The governor unveils a package of legislation focused on creating green jobs and reducing the state's carbon footprint. Among other things, it would implement a cap-and-trade system in partnership with six states and four Canadian provinces, which are part of a coalition called the Western Climate Initiative.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Gregoire says emissions plan would also create jobs -- Gregoire dismisses concerns that new regulations could hurt businesses during the recession, noting the rules wouldn't kick in until 2012. Also, the governor would have the power to suspend the rules.

►  In the Olympian -- GOP: Democrats trying to use distraction techniques -- A Boeing spokesman confirmed that Washington's business climate is a worry to the company, which received a multibillion-dollar tax break in 2003 to build the 787 in Washington. Boeing's written legislative agenda also singles out (for criticism) a labor-backed bill that limits a company's legal ability to require that its employees hear the company's viewpoint on unionization and other issues.

►  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Lobbyists carry slimmer wish list -- Politicians, business leaders and other Spokane-area officials take their annual lobbying trip to Olympia. But this year expectations are down. Some groups are mainly trying to avoid budget cuts. Gregoire tells them it’s hard to think of a tax that wouldn’t make the recession worse. But Chopp won't commit to not raising taxes, saying he wants to see how federal dollars and state budget cuts look. 

Employee Free Choice Act news:  

►  In the Denver Daily News -- Clearing up EFCA facts (op-ed by Media Matters) -- What newspaper readers and radio listeners are being told about the Employee Free Choice Act by news and opinion sources factually misrepresents the legislation. For an issue as serious as the EFCA, readers and listeners should demand serious media coverage and editorial discussion. They haven’t been getting it. What they have been getting from some of the largest newspapers and radio stations are assertions that the EFCA “would eliminate the secret ballot in union-organizing elections,” that it “takes away workers’ right for a private vote on unions,” or that it “effectively eliminates the secret ballot vote among workers when forming a union.”  The House Committee on Education and Labor has described the claim that the EFCA "abolishes the National Labor Relations Board’s ‘secret ballot’ election process” as a “myth.” The committee states on its Web site: “The Employee Free Choice Act would make that choice -- whether to use the NLRB election process or majority sign-up -- a majority choice of the employees, not the employer.”

►  Today from AP -- Tougher battles ahead for labor after early win -- Labor rights advocates, while savoring their quick win after years of battling an antagonistic Bush administration, may not have another Lilly Ledbetter to lead their cause when Congress turns to other, more fiercely contested, efforts to improve the status of workers or the unions trying to organize them.

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Were bailout funds used to plot against Employee Free Choice Act? -- A coalition of five major government-reform groups is asking Congress to fulfill its duty of overseeing the bailout funds and making sure they aren’t being used for political purposes like fighting the freedom to form unions. The taxpayers whose money is flowing to major corporations need to know that, in the midst of a devastating economic crisis, their resources aren’t being used for influence-peddling and political disinformation campaigns. 

National news:  

►  Today from AP -- Obama to host labor leaders, will undo Bush orders -- Among the Bush-era executive orders that Obama was to reverse was one that allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they are allowed to decertify their union. Critics claimed it was unfair because nonunion businesses are not required to post signs letting workers know they are legally allowed to vote for a union. Sources also said Obama would prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses intended to influence workers’ decisions to form unions or engage in collective bargaining. A third Obama order would require federal vendors with more than $100,000 in contracts to post workers’ rights under the NLRA.

►  At Huffington Post -- Judd Gregg: Commerce Secretary? -- There is a strong possibility Obama will ask Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to serve as his Secretary of Commerce. Provided that Al Franken emerges victorious in the Minnesota recount, it would give Democrats in the Senate a 60th member, as New Hampshire's Democratic governor would appoint Gregg's replacement.

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama calls Wall Street bonuses "shameful" -- “That is the height of irresponsibility,” Obama said of the nearly $20 billion in banking industry bonuses. “It is shameful. And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.”

►  In today's LA Times -- Labor nominee Hilda Solis hits GOP roadblock -- Obama's choice to head the Labor Department is trying to overcome resistance to her nomination from Republican senators, who contend she dodged important questions during her confirmation hearing. 

►  In today's NY Times -- Workers who speak out (editorial) -- A Supreme Court ruling should give more employees the courage to speak up when they see civil rights laws being broken at work.

►  In today's LA Times -- California told to furlough state employees -- A judge orders officials to implement Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan to force 238,000 employees to take two days off without pay each month. The state is expected to shut down some services on those days.